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I stand on my feet a lot. Mostly in hard-heeled cowboy boots or black combat boots. And on solid concrete, too. Eight hours a day, five days a week, and I'm supposed to remain smiling. Ouch.
You can imagine that I was delighted to hear from one of my customers that a foot massage parlor opened up the street from Momo -- just $29 for hour long relief. Yes, a stroll away and I could find myself in heaven, some strong-handed person rubbing away my foot woes. One day I'll treat myself, I promised.

With the arrival of spring, local vineyards have been revived from their winter slumber, which can only mean one thing – ‘tis the season to be tasting!
I’ve never been a fan of road trips. Something about the idea of being trapped in a car for several hours sends me into a nail-biting frenzy. However, no amount of anxiety can hinder my passion for traveling – especially when a vacation’s headline reads: Weekend indulgence of velvety Washington wines.

Above: Tilth Chef Maria Hines drinks from a Tecate at the NW James Bears Nominees dinner in April.
While I enjoy my fair share of $4 pints of microbrews and $15 bottles of Belgian ales, I have a major soft spot for beer in can. From PBR to local faves like Rainier and Olympia (okay, not locally made these days, but you catch my drift), I’ve always felt that beer in a can has a versatility (light-weight, easy to transport and recycle) and affordability that makes it hard to resist.

Seattle filmmaker extraordinaire Lynn Shelton continues her skyrocketing success with her latest film, Humpday, about two old friends (straight guys) who decide to make a porno together (gay sex). It's hilarious and smart and packed with both philosophical questions and wince-tastic moments. (I saw it months ago and still think about it regularly.) Picked up by Magnolia pictures, the film will receive national release in mid July—but you can see it at SIFF before then, or Cannes, if you happen to be in France May 13-24.

Greetings and welcome to the inaugural post of Art Breaker, my blog about local arts and culture. Seattle has a surfeit of amazing arts and artists—so many fantastic painters, dancers, photographers, filmmakers, writers, sculptors, actors, musicians, galleries, theaters, museums, nonprofit arts orgs and performance halls, in fact, that it can feel a little overwhelming to try to keep up with the local arts scene. But here’s some good news: you don’t have to be up on art to enjoy the arts!

William Belickis, former chef/owner of the late Mistral in Belltown, disappointed many when he closed Mistral in 2008. But now he's back: He signed a lease yesterday for a location in the West 8th building situated between the retail core of downtown and South Lake Union. The 100+ seat restaurant he's planning to open, to be called Mistral Kitchen, will be located in the triangular space in the 26-story building enclosed by 80 feet of glass on two sides.

Lorna Yee, Seattle magazine's Key Ingredient columnist is currently working on her first cookbook with Seattle Bride editor Ali Basye (to be published in Spring 2010 by Sasquatch Books). We prodded Lorna with a few questions about her new book and she happily responded.
What was the inspiration for your new book?

On Monday I was lucky enough to attend the James Beard Northwest nominees dinner and tweetup. Yes, tweetup. What’s that you ask? In the Twitter lexicon it's the geeky phrase de jour used to describe a real life meet up of Twitter friends.

Spring is a great time to grow, and two Seattle cult faves are doing just that. Joining the trend of restaurants adding locations on the Eastside isAgua Verde, the easy-breezy taco mecca with great fresh guacamole and margaritas. The second shop will open in the concession building at Houghton Beach State Park in Kirkland (5811 Lake Washington Blvd.), hopefully by Memorial Day, or in early June if there are delays.

We've all heard the mantra, whether in person at restaurant jobs or on TV's Top Chef or what-have-you: Chefs: Taste Your Food!
Except lately, I've noticed that it's not always enough for a chef to "taste" his or her food.

The idea that a scrappy startup could dethrone a social media giant is nothing new. Millions of young Americans have left one social network in favor of starting fresh and buiding a new one. Take, for example, my own social media history: I first hopped online in 1993. Back then, Web savvy classmates dialed up to chat with eachother on AOL. Fast-forward to the college years and I was knee-deep in blogging via Live Journal and building new "networks" on Friendster and then Myspace.

I know it's not polite to say I told you so, but we did call him the "Controversial Reinventor" in our April Best Restaurants issue. And that was way before his latest troubles, which resulted in the recent closure of Culinary Communion.